The former Oregon offensive lineman T.J. Bass signed as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys following the draft on Saturday.
I will be the first to tell you after watching his tape, I questioned why he didn’t get picked in the first place—a real head-scratcher.
Bass started 34 straight games throughout three seasons for the Ducks. He played over 2,000 snaps and earned first-team all-Pac-12 honors from the coaches in 2021 and 2022.
If you are good, you are good, right?
He logged 894 offensive snaps, 879 at left tackle and seven at left guard. For the other eight, he appeared at tight end.
It only gets better. Bass was the ONLY player to be named Pac-12 offensive lineman of the week multiple times. So again, how and why did Bass go undrafted??
Most projected him to go in the 5th or 6th round, which is understandable.
If you aren’t a top-of-the-level offensive lineman, that is about the spot you see most go. As I continue looking at his tape, numbers, and everything in between, I don’t understand how he wasn’t picked.
Bass had a 9-feet-1 broad jump at the NFL combine and a 28.5-inch vertical jump. He ran the 40-yard dash in 5.48 seconds with a 10-yard split of 1.86 seconds.
Here is the only slimmer of an idea I have as to why he didn’t get drafted.
The Oregon Ducks had one of the best offensive lines in all of football a season ago; maybe NFL teams thought he was more a product of the outstanding line play than him as an individual.
Bass is fantastic in both run and pass blocking. With all the Cowboys’ moving parts on that line, he could jump into a starting spot if someone struggles.
Due to his lack of arm length, it seems Bass will compete at guard, at least that is what the early reports say.
Others have to be in the same boat I am. He is way too good of a player to have to settle for a UDFA contract, right?
Dallas also drafted offensive tackle Asim Richards from North Carolina, so either way we will never see Josh Ball again. Thank goodness.
They should hit on a few of their draft picks, but also Bass, and another name I LOVE who was a UDFA is Isaiah Land from Florida A&M.
This team is doing almost everything right this offseason. They improved in March via trades and added some lovely pieces to the puzzle this last week.
The offensive line needs to hold up, and if others struggle early, I expect to see the team give Bass a chance. He only allowed one sack last season (462 pass-block snaps).
I don’t care who you are; that is impressive.
I will revisit this once we get through the summer, and we have a better understanding who will see playing time, but Bass should get a chance in 2023.
Let’s see how this plays out, but I just have a really good feeling about Bass going into next season.
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